This invention relates generally to power-driven conveyors and, more particularly, to conveyors capable of rotating and translating conveyed articles conveyed atop conveyor belts having article-diverting rollers that rotate about differently oriented axes as the conveyor belt advances.
Many conveying applications require that conveyed articles of a variety of shapes and sizes be aligned in a specific orientation for downstream processing or inspection. Sometimes the width of the conveyor or of the entrance into a processing station is limited. In the case of articles having a generally rectangular footprint, with a minor axis and a longer major axis, the major axis or the diagonal can exceed the dimensions of a limited-width portion of the conveyor. If the major axis of an oversized article is oriented on the conveyor with its long axis across the width of the conveyor, the article can jam between the side walls of the conveyor. Manual intervention is then required to free the jam. Consequently, there is a need for a conveyor that can align and orient articles of a variety of sizes and shapes.